Tension gripped the Amb Sahib colony near Jagatpura village on Tuesday evening when a scuffle between Congress and Akali Dal workers escalated and senior leaders of both the parties arrived at the spot to have heated arguments. Mohali MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu’s brother was allegedly man-handled by SAD workers during the incident.

According to witnesses, the incident took place late evening, when MLA Sidhu’s brother Amarjeet Singh ‘Jeeti’ went to Jagatpura and the surrounding colonies to meet some residents along with three-four party workers. Witnesses said that when he was interacting with a residents, around 30-40 SAD workers, including MP candidate Prem Singh Chandumajra’s son Simarjit Singh Chandumajra, arrived at the spot and started forcibly checking his pockets and alleged that he was illegally distributing liquor and cash. A scuffle ensued in which the Congress workers were thrashed by their rivals, said the villagers.

Soon, MLA Sidhu, along with MP candidate Ambika Soni and Chandigarh MP Pawan Kumar Bansal swooped down on the village. On the other side, Chandumajra and other senior Akali leaders arrived there after which heated arguments took place between both the parties. The police, including SP (City) Swarndeep Singh also arrived at the spot and managed to control the situation after which both the parties dispersed from the spot.

Congress workers accused the police of inaction while SAD workers said that the Congress was indulging in free distribution of liquor in colonies around Jagatpura and they were trying to stop them. “We were all outnumbered and thrashed by SAD workers who arrived from outside the district to specifically target us,” alleged Sidhu’s brother Jeeti.

“The Congress party has been trying to influence voters by distributing free liquor for many days and we were simply trying to control that,” alleged a SAD worker. SP Swarndeep could not be reached for comments.